CITY_GUIDES_ UNCORKED Straight to the source of the Pacific’s best wine HANDLED WITH CARE Appreciating Tasmania’s best tipple doesn’t have to mean rubbing shoulders with pretentious wine snobs. At the family-owned PUDDLEDUCK VINEYARD in the picturesque Coal River Valley, about 20 minutes’ drive north-east of Hobart, you’ll receive a warm welcome from the vineyard’s resident dog, Bazil the corgi – not to mention the winery’s passionate owners. HOBART 22 GOLDEN GRAPES The Sunshine State is well-known for plenty of holiday indulgences, but wine isn’t really one of them. Yet that hasn’t prevented these vineyard owners from turning the Gold Coast hinterland into an emerging wine region. Pop into O’REILLY’S CANUNGRA VALLEY VINEYARDS and try their chambourcin – a ruby-red wine with cherry, loganberry and herbaceous aromas. Call +61 7 5543 4011 or visit www.oreillys.com.au. 132 VIRGINBLUE HOLD ON TIGHT as the F1 Superboats roar into the Gold Coast as part of a seven-round national series, until 24 August. Visit www.f1boat.com.au. GET LYRICAL at the Australian Bush Poetry Championships in Pine Rivers, near Brisbane, until 24 August. Visit www.abpa.org.au. VALLEY OF VINES Enjoying a sheltered position in the Waipara Valley – 40 minutes’ drive north of Christchurch airport – PEGASUS BAY WINERY is treated to warm days, cool nights and a dry autumn, which are ideal conditions for prolonged ripening periods. The result is intense flavour development in its wines, particularly evident in the pinot noir, handcrafted in the Burgundian tradition. Call +64 3 314 6869 or visit www.pegasusbay.com. Another plus is that you won’t be rushed through the sales pitch at this small, but lovingly maintained, property. Guests are encouraged to taste the vineyard’s wine over a long BYO picnic lunch enjoyed next to a pond teaming with ducks, or at the bar in the winery’s relaxed cellar door. The drops are only available at the cellar door or via mail order, and the focus is on handcrafted wine using the traditional methods of hand- harvesting and cane pruning. Each bunch is escorted to the winery within two hours of picking to ensure peak quality. Both the Puddleduck Riesling and Chardonnay recently scooped medals at the 2008 Tasmanian Wine Show, the Bazil Signature Pinot Noir – named after the vineyard’s enthusiastic mascot – is a blend of French oak, mint and supremely subtle violet aromas. Where and when: 992 Richmond Road, Coal River Valley (20 minutes’ drive from Hobart CBD). Open daily, 10am till 5pm. Fly to: Hobart. Price: Free entry, tasting is $5. Contact: Call +61 3 6260 2301 or visit www.puddleduckvineyard.com.au. 22 23 27 TREAT YOURSELF to South Australia’s best food, wine and music at the Barossa Gourmet Weekend, until August 24. Visit www.barossa.com. SHOPPING BAG If you’ve spent the day touring the Barossa Valley’s best cellar doors, you’ll no doubt have plenty of bottles ready for uncorking. Find the perfect accompaniment for your favourite drop at Maggie Beer’s PHEASANT FARM where you can fill up on artisan cheeses, olives, wood-fired bread and quince paste to bring out the best of any Barossa shiraz. Call +61 8 8562 4477 or visit www.maggiebeer.com.au. BRING YOUR FORK to the Whitianga Scallop Festival – a celebration of New Zealand’s best seafood, until 31 August. Visit www.scallopfestival.co.nz. ADELAIDE CHRISTCHURCH GOLD COAST WHAT’S ON TEXT :: SHANE CONROY // PHOTOGRAPHY :: JACQUI WAY FOR SATC, MAIN DIVIDE, PAUL EWART AND MURRAY WAITE FOR TOURISM QUEENSLAND. ? AUGUST